Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale. File photo
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Stock Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which is in the centre of a storm following multiple allegations being levelled against its chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, has “completely abandoned its autonomy”, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale said on Friday (September 13, 2024).

Also read: ‘All allegations are false, malicious, and motivated’

As opposition parties continued their attack against the SEBI chief, the TMC leader said any violations that involved the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), like the allegations of a stock market manipulation through exit polls, are being “brushed under the carpet” by the board. 

“SEBI has now completely abandoned its autonomy and is functioning solely on the orders of the ruling party BJP… Therefore, any violation that involves the BJP, like the alleged stock market exit poll scam, is brushed under the carpet,” Gokhale told PTI. 

The TMC was the first opposition party to approach the SEBI, demanding a probe over allegations of stock market manipulations through exit polls after the results of the Lok Sabha elections were declared. 

On June 13, TMC’s Parliamentary party leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien had written to the board seeking an appointment for a delegation of party leaders to meet Buch. 

A delegation of TMC comprising MPs Kalyan Banerjee, Sagarika Ghose and Saket Gokhale, as well as Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant and NCP (SP) leader Vidya Chavan, had on June 18 submitted a letter to the SEBI demanding a probe in the allegations of stock market manipulation. 

SEBI in reply had shared written replies to questions from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.  US short-seller Hindenburg Research had last month alleged that the SEBI chairperson and her husband had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal. Buch had categorically denied the allegation.

In January last year, Hindenburg Research, which in the past has shorted, or bet against, companies like electric truck maker Nikola Corp and Twitter (now X), accused Adani Group of pulling “the largest con in corporate history” by using a web of companies in tax havens to inflate its revenue and manipulate stock prices, even as debt piled up.

After the Hindenburg report, the Supreme Court asked market regulator SEBI to complete its investigation and set up a separate expert panel to look into regulatory lapses. The panel did not give any adverse report on Adani and the apex court too stated that no other probe other than the one being done by Sebi was required.

TMC leader Mahua Moitra meanwhile has approached the Lokpal seeking a probe in the allegations against Buch.  Moitra shared a screenshot of submission of both the online complaint and the physical copy on X.

“My Lokpal complaint against Ms. Puri-Buch has been filed electronically and in physical form. Lokpal must within 30 days refer it to CBI/ED for a preliminary investigation and then a full FIR enquiry,” Moitra said.

“Every single entity involved needs to be summoned and every link investigated,” she added.

The Congress has also made a series of allegations of irregularities against Buch.

This includes Buch and her husband having received rental income from a Mumbai firm that has been investigated by the SEBI for multiple cases.

The Congress has also alleged that the SEBI chairperson had a 99 per cent stake in a firm when it provided consultancy services to the Mahindra and Mahindra Group and her husband received Rs 4.78 crore as income from the conglomerate while she was adjudicating cases of the same group.

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court today directed Trinamool Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Saket Gokhale, to pay Rs 50 lakh in damages in a defamation case filed by former diplomat Lakshmi Puri. The court also issued additional instructions, including a public apology on social media which must remain on his handle for at least six months. 

The legal battle stems from tweets made Mr Gokhale on June 13 and June 26 in 2021. In these tweets, Gokhale alleged that Lakshmi Puri had purchased property in Switzerland disproportionate to her income. He also mentioned her husband, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri.

The court also ordered Mr Gokhale to publish his apology in a leading national newspaper, adding that the order must be complied with within eight weeks.

In her 2021 lawsuit, filed through the legal firm Karanjawala and Company, Lakshmi Puri accused Mr Gokhale of making “false and factually incorrect, per se defamatory, slanderous, and libellous statements/imputations” against her and her family. She argued that Mr Gokhale’s claims about her income were baseless, as she was on deputation from the Government of India to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

In 2021, Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing Lakshmi Puri, argued that the tweets were defamatory, malicious, and based on false information. Mr Singh emphasized that Ms Puri did not hold any public office at the time, and hence, her private transactions should not have been subjected to public scrutiny without her consent. He criticised Mr Gokhale for not verifying the facts before making public allegations, describing his actions as an attack on Puri’s integrity.

On the other hand, Mr Gokhale’s counsel, Advocate Sarim Naved, contended that as a citizen, Mr Gokhale had the right to question the assets of public figures. Naved argued that the involvement of public money justified Mr Gokhale’s scrutiny of the transactions.

New Delhi:

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale on Friday said he has received 11 notices from the income-tax department in the last 72 hours and alleged that every attempt is being made to put pressure on the opposition ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

In a post on X, Saket Gokhale said some of the notices go back almost seven years.

“Got a total of 11 Income Tax notices in the last 72 hours for various years (some as far back as 7 years),” he said.

“It’s hilarious how the Modi government isn’t even pretending that they’ll let the elections be free and fair. Every attempt being made to pressurise the Opposition on the eve of Lok Sabha 2024,” the TMC leader said.

The TMC leader also shared screenshots of e-mails he received from the I-T department along with his post on the microblogging platform. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has criticised the raising of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans to mock a Pakistan cricketer during the India-Pakistan World Cup match in Ahmedabad Saturday. Mr Stalin’s remarks have drawn a sharp response from BJP leaders, with the party’s national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia calling him a “mosquito” out to “spread poison”. 

Videos of people raising the slogans as Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan walked to the dugout has sparked strong reactions. Many have said the sloganeering was against the spirit of cricket and amounted to harassing the cricketer.

Some voices, however, have pointed out to Mr Rizwan offering namaz on the field and expressing solidarity with the people in war-hit Gaza in an earlier match, alleging that it was the Pakistan cricketer who brought religion to the field.

India is renowned for its sportsmanship and hospitality. However, the treatment meted out to Pakistan players at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is unacceptable and a new low. Sports should be a unifying force between countries, fostering true brotherhood. Using it as a tool… pic.twitter.com/MJnPJsERyK

— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) October 14, 2023

Taking to X, Ms Stalin said India in known for its sportsmanship and hospitality, and the treatment of players from the neighbouring country was a “new low”.

“India is renowned for its sportsmanship and hospitality. However, the treatment meted out to Pakistan players at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is unacceptable and a new low. Sports should be a unifying force between countries, fostering true brotherhood. Using it as a tool to spread hatred is condemnable,” he posted.

Earlier, Mr Stalin had sparked a row with his remarks on Sanatana Dharma. The DMK leader, who is the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and party chief MK Stalin, had said Sanatana Dharma is against the idea of social justice and must be “eradicated”. “Sanatana is like malaria and dengue and so it must be eradicated and not opposed,” he had said in September. The comment had drawn fire from the BJP.

Responding to his latest remark, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia posted on X in Hindi, “This hateful dengue, malaria mosquito is out to spread poison again. You don’t have a problem when a match is paused for namaz on the field,” he said. “Our Lord Ram resides in every corner of the universe, so say Jai Shri Ram,” he added. 

नफ़रती डेंगू मलेरिया मच्छर फिर निकला है विष घोलने जब मैच रुकवा कर फील्ड पर नमाज़ पड़ी जाती है तो तुम्हें साँप सूँघ जाता है

सृष्टि के हर कन कन मे हमारे प्रभु श्री राम बसते है, तो बोलो जय श्री राम #IndiavsPakpic.twitter.com/Tm7Ikxbtqw

— Gaurav Bhatia गौरव भाटिया (@gauravbhatiabjp) October 15, 2023

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale, too, has slammed raising of the slogans to heckle the Pakistani cricketer.

PM Modi desperately wants India to host the 2036 Olympics.

But if this is what BJP has reduced our audiences to – where they heckle a Pakistani player with chants of Jai Shri Ram – massive doubts remain over whether we’re qualified & sporting enough to host ANY international… pic.twitter.com/8m4BgdAOFn

— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) October 15, 2023

“PM Modi desperately wants India to host the 2036 Olympics. But if this is what BJP has reduced our audiences to – where they heckle a Pakistani player with chants of Jai Shri Ram – massive doubts remain over whether we’re qualified & sporting enough to host ANY international sporting event,” he wrote on X.

India posted a comfortable 7-wicket win against Pakistan Saturday, in its eight straight win against the neighbouring country in the World Cup.

The Pakistan team’s visit to the World Cup and the grand welcome it has received in Hyderabad and Ahmedabad has drawn mixed responses. Many cricket fans have said political differences should not be allowed to ruin the game. Others have pointed to Pakistan’s role in cross-border terrorism and questioned how normal sports relations can be maintained despite tension on the borders.